Have you ever had someone try to push something down your throat? How about someone who is constantly pitching you the same old products or services? Do you get messages from an old friend saying how they love working from home and get to build their business while being at home? It's really annoying.

Unfortunately, this is an all too common approach people take when they're a part of a multi-level marketing (MLM) organization. Businesses that can be found using this model include essential oils, makeup, and health supplements. If you're a part of an MLM, don't run away. This blog post is designed to help you put social media to work for you and help you increase online sales. Here's how you do increase sales without annoying the heck out of your friends and family:

Separate your personal life from your business life: Are you sharing all of your products/services on your personal Facebook page? Stop and create a business Facebook page. It's really easy to do. The same goes for your Instagram account. Create a business account and it'll help you keep your friends while increasing brand awareness. If you prefer to stay on Facebook, create a Facebook group which has an organic reach that will give you stronger engagement with your fans. It'll create a community for your customers and business partners to fall back in for resources and expertise only you can provide. You can regularly post content that answers questions people have about your product or service.

Create value: It's tough for any business to attract new customers if people don't understand how they can benefit from what a business has to offer. Do you know which problems your product or service solves? If you can't answer that question, you're either in the wrong business or should become more familiar with what you are offering. Here are three different ways you can create value and help people solve problems using your product or service:

Blog: Setting up a blog on your website is one the best ways to gain credibility, increase your visibility online, and answer any questions your potential customers have. Blog topics you can pursue include "How to get the most out of your ....", "10 ways to....", and "Do these 3 things to save money with...". The sky is the limit.

Video: Using video for marketing is one of the best ways to engage with people. Videos do really well on social media and on the web in general. You don't even have to be a video wiz. You can do things like Facebook Live or Instagram Live to interact with customers.

Tips and tricks: Everyone loves learning how to get the most out of something they paid for with their hard-earned cash. The same goes for anything you offer to customers. Are you offering financial planning services? Let them know about investment best practices on your YouTube channel. Do you sell makeup? Post a makeup tutorial twice a week that shows your customers how to easily look like a celebrity with your products. People want to know how to get the best return for their hard-earned cash.

Be consistent: Figure out a schedule that works for you and stick to it. If you have the bandwidth to produce a new 60-second video for YouTube three times a week, do it. If you only have time to post on Instagram every Tuesday and Thursday then do that. The key is consistency in the timing of your posts as well as the quality of your posts. Your customers need to know they can count on you to provide value and help them solve the problems they need your products/services to solve. Use a social media scheduler to save you time and money in the long run.

Transparency always pays off: Be open with your followers. Let them know how much things cost. No one wants to feel like they've been ripped off. It'll hurt your reputation and it'll take a long time to repair bridges you've burned as a result of not being upfront and honest.

Now that you've read through these four tips, take action and put these tips to work for you! You'll still keep your relationships while building the life you were promised when you joined whatever MLM you're a part of.